Editorial: Lift the Immigration Relief Barriers

We expect the judges of the 5th Circuit to follow their colleagues’ footsteps and lift the barrier that is preventing the migratory relief from being implemented

Millones de personas esperan por los alivios migratorios.

Foto:
Aurelia Ventura/La Opinion / La Opinion

Por: La Opinión16 abril 2015

The recent decision of a panel of judges from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit offers hope that the courts will dismiss a lawsuit from several states against President Obama’s executive actions on immigration.

The federal tribunal will hold another hearing today regarding another lawsuit challenging the presidential actions, under the shadow of the ruling by three judges from the same circuit, which dismissed the charge by the state of Mississippi and agents of the Border Patrol against the first DACA order, from 2012.

The federal agents had argued that the executive order prevented them from doing their work, violated their oath to uphold the law, and exposed them to being punished by their superiors. The Southern state, for its part, claimed that the White House decision was financially damaging.

The judges could not be more straightforward in their dismissal.

First, they said that Mississippi lacked standing to challenge DACA because it could not demonstrate having suffered any harm because of the order. The panel stated that the state’s only valid argument is that “illegal immigration” can cost them money, but not DACA. The judges also said that that although the state claimed that the executive order would be costly, it did not take into account its fiscal benefits.

Second, the arguments of the border patrol union were refuted one by one. What’s clear is that those federal public employees should just respect the current laws instead of tergiversating them in order to join a partisan political fray.

The unanimous decision of the three judges – two of them designated by Republican presidents – is a significant precedent. As observers have noted, both Texas and the rest of states participating in the lawsuit against the renewal of DACA and DAPA are in the same situation than Mississippi. The magistrates also dismissed Texas judge Andrew Hanen’s argument that the executive actions are mandatory orders, when they are actually analyzed on a case-by-case basis according to the USCIS instructions.

We expect the judges of the 5th Circuit to follow their colleagues’ footsteps and lift the barrier that is preventing the migratory relief from being implemented.